The TomTom Club

3 and a half months sure have flown by eh.?! Yep. Holidays sure are great! Unfortunately, though, there comes a time in every "intrepid young (and handsome) traveler"s life when he must own up to the guilt of a cruisy lifestyle of 10am wake ups, 3am (+/-) bed times, and no real obligations in between... besides bringing the beer to the next party... or showing up to the gig on time... etc...

Yes, alas, It was time to get a job.

But you WILL be pleased to know that I did my usual "not too much" in order to get this job.

I handed my CV to a friend that works there one week, I got a call for an interview the next, and went in for the interview that afternoon (my idea, as I was off to Paris the next morning). It went really well, and talked myself up more than ever before. Yeah, seriously, this intrepid young (and handsome) traveler talked himself up! It was weird and funny and I was impressed with myself all at once. My last interview was pretty average and typical, so I was quite chuffed with my performance this time round. Went something kinda like this (liberal use of 'wank' for effect):

What can you bring to the team?
Well... In my old job I played both the joker, and the voice of reason, sometimes both at once depending on the situation... So I think I could work a bit like a pendulum and help balance the workplace and find that happy medium...

How do you deal with upset clients?
Well, I'm glad you asked. I have never officially studied psychology or counseling techniques, but I feel I have a natural aptitude to read a situation and adjust my tact in order to push my point and achieve a result that suits my purpose, whilst still keeping the client on side...

And so on. Was pretty funny. Also, the interview was definitely not hindered any by the fact that I had already been for a night on the town with one of the interviewing supervisors.

So yeah, I got a call the next day and the job is mine!

At a week and a half of training in so far... so far so good.

Oh yeah, what I'm actually going to be doing is working as a "Customer Support Officer" for the UK team of TomTom - Europe's leading GPS device company. I will be answering calls from confused and/or angry UK citizens that are having trouble with their TomTom, and I will try troubleshoot a fix or organise a repair.

Should be pretty easy, and pretty fun, with plenty of young, cool and multicultural people working there. Everyone seems easygoing and all that. And I'll be working next to the Nordic team, so atleast while I'm stuck in an office for a bit more of my life, I will be constantly reminded that I'm stuck in an office... in Europe.

Paris

Last week was spent in France with my Gran, Mum and Aunty. They are visiting Europe, and it would have been just plain rude of me not to take full advantage of their hospitality and crash on the floor of their apartment for a few nights in the Montmartre area of Paris.

It could have just been just first taste of spring. It could have been some subconscious rekindling of old sights and sounds from my childhood. It could have been all the characters walking straight off the Amelie set (or back on to...). It could have been something else.

But there is something about this part of Paris that I just fell in love with.

I took about 200 photos over the 4 days I was down there, cause, well, a picture DOES tell a thousand words.... As my pictures often get to the point quicker and better than I do, Here are 11,000 words.

View out of one of the apartment windows.

View out of the bathroom. Actually out of the window above the bathtub/shower. Each morning I opened the window and took all this in whilst showering. Thats the Sacré Coeur in the middle there.

Typical view from the area we were in.

Totally sweet french graffiti.

We went to Giverny one day, to Monet's house. His gardens were pretty, um.... pretty.

Yep. Springtime is on its way....finally!

Went to the Moulin Rouge one eve, as it was about 10 mins walk from our place. Unfortunately, as you can see, the best tickets I could afford for this place left me with a fairly limited view of the dancers...

Metro. Lamarck Caulaincourt.

Gran and Mums on the Metro.

View from the Australian Ambassador to France's Apartment, top floor of the Australian Embassy. Yeah thats right. We ran in to an old family friend, who also happens to be the Ambassador's wife, and had been in Paris for only a matter of hours when we ran in to each other in the street... We organised to go in to her place for coffee a few days later. Highrollin'. I lived in the same building and had a similar view when I was 4. Oh yeah, thats the Eiffel Tower in the background there.

Wall.

For anyone that has a newer cannon digital camera, I recommend playing with the extra settings. Most of these were taken using the "foliage" option, and as a result, I have not needed to use photoshop like usual to get the colours looking so vibrant.

The Power Force

My "esteemed colleague", Mr Ryan Millar, has written his first award winning* play. It's also the first play he's written. Period. Not bad eh? I've read it. It's good. It's funny.

PUNCH YOUR LUNCH:
When you see an opportunity you’ve got to just grab it, and squeeze it, and hit the shit out of it until it cries. In that way you make it yours.
- Useful advice from unpublished self-help manuscript The Power Force, by Charles Bell

It’s the second day of her internship at MaxCap Publishing and Stacy Jean Gray couldn’t be more excited. However, when the boss shows up with a brand new set of leadership principles to put into force it threatens to ruin the office. Can Stacy draw on her day of experience and help save the office? If you said ‘yes’, you’ve either already read the play, seen it, or have a pretty good handle on how stories generally go.

Over the weekend on my stop in Brussels on my way back from Paris, (whole other post to follow...) I helped Ryan out, as good mates do, with the design and layout of the book, and design of some promo fliers and stickers. These items are the first "physical" fruits to come out of the 'actual and very much real' Maxcap Publishing wing of the Maxcap Media Empire.

Being that I am fortunate enough to currently be living in the northern hemisphere, I am happy to be able to attend and enjoy the play, and also enjoy seeing one of my buddy's passions come to fruition.

*Winner of the American Theatre Company’s One-Act Playwriting Competition 2007